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Max Dowman stood laughing as Declan Rice bounced the ball off his backside during an open training session on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Hong Kong in the summer.

The 15-year-old then tried to mimic the fun piece of skill before manager Mikel Arteta punched the ball away to stop Dowman completing the movement during a light-hearted moment.

It was a reminder that behind the enormous talent he has shown during his outings for the Arsenal first team in pre-season – and now on his Premier League debut -that Dowman is a year 10 student.

That training session took place just a day before he replaced Gunners talisman Bukayo Saka against Tottenham Hotspur in the Kai Tak Stadium. The teenager came on and looked like Arsenal’s brightest attacking spark.

Dowman’s introductions as a substitute were some of the highlights of Arsenal’s pre-season, dazzling with his runs down the right-hand side and winning two penalties against Newcastle United and Villarreal.

At 15 years and 234 days old, he has now become the second youngest player to play for the club, only behind his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri who made his debut at 15 years 181 days in September 2022 against Brentford.

The winger came off the bench in the 64th minute and excited the home crowd with a weaving run that was only ended when he was brought down by Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who was booked.

“This is what we see every single day in training,” Arsenal boss Arteta said when asked by BBC Sport about the Dowman’s impact.

“We gathered the information about how he handles certain situations, in terms of training, being in the squad and not being selected afterwards in Manchester [against United], coming on the bench and feeling ready.

“Again, big compliments to his family. I think they raised a kid with a level of maturity, stability and hunger that is very difficult to see.

“And to the academy – Per [Mertesacker] and all the coaches and everybody that has been involved in that journey.

“Because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life.

The talent of Dowman has not been a shock for anyone who has been around Arsenal. He has been training with the first team squad since he was 14.

He was taken on the team’s warm weather training camp to Dubai in January and there were calls from supporters for him to be used during the last campaign when Arteta’s squad was decimated by injuries.

Dowman played for England Under-17s in the Euros in the summer and became the competition’s youngest scorer when he netted in a win over the Czech Republic.

He featured three years above his age group when playing for the Under-18s at Arsenal. Last season he scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 23 games, with 17 of those goal involvements coming in the last seven matches of the Under-18 Premier League South season (14 goals, three assists).

Age restrictions stopped him from making his Premier League debut last season but now he is eligible and with a potential hamstring injury to Saka, the young winger could be about to be thrust into the spotlight more often.

Dowman replaced Saka in four of the pre-season matches before being given time off to rest against Athletic Bilbao, but the winger looks full of energy in what could be his breakthrough season.

Arteta also said that he needs to “protect” Dowman on his journey but that has not stopped his team-mates heaping praise on him.

“I think everyone can see the potential he has. Playing against grown men. He is a joy to watch, for the crowd too he is a joy to watch. Hopefully, he will have many amazing years here.” Jurrien Timber said after the match.

Max Dowman stood laughing as Declan Rice bounced the ball off his backside during an open training session on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Hong Kong in the summer.

The 15-year-old then tried to mimic the fun piece of skill before manager Mikel Arteta punched the ball away to stop Dowman completing the movement during a light-hearted moment.

It was a reminder that behind the enormous talent he has shown during his outings for the Arsenal first team in pre-season – and now on his Premier League debut -that Dowman is a year 10 student.

That training session took place just a day before he replaced Gunners talisman Bukayo Saka against Tottenham Hotspur in the Kai Tak Stadium. The teenager came on and looked like Arsenal’s brightest attacking spark.

Dowman’s introductions as a substitute were some of the highlights of Arsenal’s pre-season, dazzling with his runs down the right-hand side and winning two penalties against Newcastle United and Villarreal.

At 15 years and 234 days old, he has now become the second youngest player to play for the club, only behind his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri who made his debut at 15 years 181 days in September 2022 against Brentford.

The winger came off the bench in the 64th minute and excited the home crowd with a weaving run that was only ended when he was brought down by Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who was booked.

“This is what we see every single day in training,” Arsenal boss Arteta said when asked by BBC Sport about the Dowman’s impact.

“We gathered the information about how he handles certain situations, in terms of training, being in the squad and not being selected afterwards in Manchester [against United], coming on the bench and feeling ready.

“Again, big compliments to his family. I think they raised a kid with a level of maturity, stability and hunger that is very difficult to see.

“And to the academy – Per [Mertesacker] and all the coaches and everybody that has been involved in that journey.

“Because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life.

The talent of Dowman has not been a shock for anyone who has been around Arsenal. He has been training with the first team squad since he was 14.

He was taken on the team’s warm weather training camp to Dubai in January and there were calls from supporters for him to be used during the last campaign when Arteta’s squad was decimated by injuries.

Dowman played for England Under-17s in the Euros in the summer and became the competition’s youngest scorer when he netted in a win over the Czech Republic.

He featured three years above his age group when playing for the Under-18s at Arsenal. Last season he scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 23 games, with 17 of those goal involvements coming in the last seven matches of the Under-18 Premier League South season (14 goals, three assists).

Age restrictions stopped him from making his Premier League debut last season but now he is eligible and with a potential hamstring injury to Saka, the young winger could be about to be thrust into the spotlight more often.

Dowman replaced Saka in four of the pre-season matches before being given time off to rest against Athletic Bilbao, but the winger looks full of energy in what could be his breakthrough season.

Arteta also said that he needs to “protect” Dowman on his journey but that has not stopped his team-mates heaping praise on him.

“I think everyone can see the potential he has. Playing against grown men. He is a joy to watch, for the crowd too he is a joy to watch. Hopefully, he will have many amazing years here.” Jurrien Timber said after the match.

Max Dowman stood laughing as Declan Rice bounced the ball off his backside during an open training session on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Hong Kong in the summer.

The 15-year-old then tried to mimic the fun piece of skill before manager Mikel Arteta punched the ball away to stop Dowman completing the movement during a light-hearted moment.

It was a reminder that behind the enormous talent he has shown during his outings for the Arsenal first team in pre-season – and now on his Premier League debut – that Dowman was a year 10 student until last month.

That training session took place just a day before he replaced Gunners talisman Bukayo Saka against Tottenham Hotspur in the Kai Tak Stadium. The teenager came on and looked like Arsenal’s brightest attacking spark.

Dowman’s introductions as a substitute were some of the highlights of Arsenal’s pre-season, dazzling with his runs down the right-hand side and winning two penalties against Newcastle United and Villarreal.

At 15 years and 234 days old, he has now become the second-youngest player to play for the club, only behind his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri, who made his debut at 15 years 181 days in September 2022 against Brentford.

The winger came off the bench in the 64th minute and excited the home crowd with a weaving run that was only ended when he was brought down by Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, who was booked.

“This is what we see every single day in training,” Arsenal boss Arteta said when asked by BBC Sport about the Dowman’s impact.

“We gathered the information about how he handles certain situations, in terms of training, being in the squad and not being selected afterwards in Manchester [against United], coming on the bench and feeling ready.

“Again, big compliments to his family. I think they raised a kid with a level of maturity, stability and hunger that is very difficult to see.

“And to the academy – Per [Mertesacker] and all the coaches and everybody that has been involved in that journey.

“Because there is a kid here that has zero hesitation and is so convinced that at 15 he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life.

The talent of Dowman is no shock to anyone who has been around Arsenal. He has been training with the first-team squad since he was 14.

He was taken on the team’s warm weather training camp to Dubai in January and there were calls from supporters for him to be used during the last campaign when Arteta’s squad was decimated by injuries.

Dowman played for England at the European Under-17 Championship in May, and became the competition’s youngest scorer when he netted in a win over the Czech Republic.

He featured three years above his age group when playing for the Under-18s at Arsenal. Last season he scored 19 goals and provided five assists in 23 games, with 17 of those goal involvements coming in the last seven matches of the Under-18 Premier League South season (14 goals, three assists).

Age restrictions stopped him from making his Premier League debut last season but now he is eligible and with a potential hamstring injury to Saka, the young winger could be about to be thrust into the spotlight more often.

Dowman replaced Saka in four of the pre-season matches before being given time off to rest against Athletic Bilbao, but the winger looks full of energy in what could be his breakthrough season.

Arteta also said that he needs to “protect” Dowman on his journey but that has not stopped his team-mates heaping praise on him.

“I think everyone can see the potential he has. Playing against grown men. He is a joy to watch, for the crowd too he is a joy to watch. Hopefully, he will have many amazing years here.” Jurrien Timber said after the match.

Declan Rice bounced the ball off his backside during an open training session during Arsenal’s summer pre-season visit to Hong Kong, and Max Dowman laughed as he laughed.

The 15-year-old then attempted to emulate the entertaining skill before manager Mikel Arteta slammed the ball away to halt Dowman’s cheery completion.

It served as a reminder that up until last month, Dowman was a year 10 student despite the enormous talent he has displayed during his pre-season appearances for the Arsenal first team and now making his Premier League debut.

Just one day prior to his substitution for Tottenham Hotspur’s talisman Bukayo Saka, he trained at the Kai Tak Stadium. The youngster appeared to be Arsenal’s most promising attacking force when he started.

One of Arsenal’s pre-season highlights was the introduction of substitute quarterback Dowman, who excelled with his runs down the right-hand side and won two penalties against Villarreal and Newcastle United.

He is now the second-youngest player to play for the club at 15 years and 234 days, only trailing only his team-mate Ethan Nwaneri, who made his debut against Brentford at 15 years and 181 days.

The home team’s winger unleashed a weaving run on the 64th minute that was only finished when Leeds left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson brought him down.

Arsenal’s manager Arteta responded to a BBC Sport question about the Dowman’s impact by saying, “This is what we see every day in training.”

We gathered data on how he handled certain situations, such as coming on the bench and feeling prepared during training, while playing for United in Manchester and not being chosen afterwards.

“Thank you very much for this,” his family once more. A child with that much maturity, stability, and hunger, in my opinion, was raised.

“And to the academy, Per Mertesacker, all the coaches, and everyone who has traveled that way,”

Because a young person here is so convinced that when he’s 15 years old, he can go and deliver, which I have never witnessed in my life.

Anyone who has worked for Arsenal will not be surprised by Dowman’s talent. Since he was 14 years old, he has been training with the first-team squad.

He was taken to the team’s warm-weather training camp in Dubai in January, and supporters had been asking for him to play during Arteta’s squad’s demise due to injuries.

When Dowman scored in a win over the Czech Republic in the European Under-17 Championship in May, he became the youngest scorer in the competition.

When he played for the Under-18s at Arsenal, he scored three years over his age group. In 23 games of the Under-18 Premier League South season, he scored 19 goals and provided five assists last season, with 17 of those goals coming in the final seven games (14 goals, three assists).

He was unable to make his Premier League debut last year due to age restrictions, but now he is eligible and Saka could soon face a potential hamstring injury as a result.

Saka was substituted for in four pre-season games before taking a rest against Athletic Bilbao, but the winger appears to be ready for a breakthrough season.

Arteta added that Dowman needs to be “protected” while traveling, but that hasn’t stopped his teammates from praising him.

“I believe everyone can see his potential,” he said. playing against mature men. He is delightful to watch, as is the audience. He’ll likely spend many wonderful years here. After the game, Justin Timber said something.

The England cerebral palsy team were beaten 3-1 by Ukraine in the European Championship final.

England had hoped to avenge their 3-0 loss to Ukraine in the final two years ago.

And after going a goal down in Loughborough, a Harry Baker header put the Para Lions level in the 16th minute.

But the defending champions scored twice in the second half to successfully defend their title.

Last year, England came fifth in the Cerebral Palsy World Cup.

CP football is played with seven players on each side and smaller goals. Players are split into categories based on their disabilities: FT1, FT2 and FT3, with FT3 players least physically impacted.

England: 1 Giles Moore, 2 Liam Irons, 3 Mason Dunbar, 5 Harry Baker, 6 Matt Crossen (c), 8 Sam Dewhirst, 14 Matthew Robinson